Mumbai, Feb 22 A day after he was abruptly ousted as Mumbai Indian Youth Congress President, Congress MLA Zeeshan B. Siddique on Thursday criticised Rahul Gandhi's team and also dropped veiled hints of examining fresh political alternatives.
"If the Congress does not want me, I will have to look for new options. They should have at least consulted me. I learnt of the development through the media," said Zeeshan, an MLA from Bandra East who was the youngest to get elected to the Assembly in 2019, rattling Congress circles.
The developments came barely two weeks after Zeeshan's father, Baba Ziauddin Siddique, three-time ex-MLA from Bandra West and ex-Minister suddenly quit the Congress and joined the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Targetting the Congress leadership, Zeeshan told mediapersons that though Rahul Gandhi is a 'good leader', his team is the biggest factor leading to the Congress' downfall, and claimed that the party is riddled with hypocrisy.
"It seems they have taken a contract from some other party to wipe off the Congress. I had gone to Nanded for the previous Bharat Jodo Yatra and sought to meet Rahul Gandhi. I was told to return after shedding 10 kg," he said.
Zeeshan also slammed the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government, saying that he was not able to resolve the issues of his constituency.
On his removal as the MYC chief, Zeeshan said that while his father had joined (NCP), there are many instances of families staying in different political parties.
He cited the instance of the late Rajiv Gandhi and his brother Sanjay Gandhi whose families are now in different political parties -- Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka are with the Congress but Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi are with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Similarly, Madhavrao Scindia and Vijaya Raje Scindia were with Congress, but their other relatives are with the BJP, A.K. Antony is a Congressman but his son Anil A. Antony has joined BJP.
On his future plans, Zeeshan said that he was elected by 88,517 members -- the highest in MYC's history -- as the city President, and would consult his supporters before taking a call on his political options.
Spelling rumblings within the city and state Congress, the Mumbai Congress President Prof. Varsha Gaikwad removed Zeeshan on Wednesday and named Akhilesh Yadav as the new Mumbai Youth Congress President and Sufiyan M. Haider as the Working President.
"... dreams and aspirations of young India have been crushed due to rising unemployment and joblessness. The #BharatJodoNyayYatra is committed to fighting for and achieving #YuvaNyay . I look forward to working closely with Akhilesh and Sufiyan in Mumbai to ensure that the Congress's call for justice reaches every young Mumbaikar," said Prof Gaikwad, an MLA from Dharavi and an ex-minister, posted on 'X'.
"After giving 12 years to the organisation having fought three elections, it is unfortunate that I have not received any official intimation from the party and I have to learn about my ousting from the media and social media," he said, venting his ire on 'X'.
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